BECOMING AN SMC AGENCY
Why the SMC may enhance your work:
The program is:
A state-of-the-science intervention
- Designed by midwives for maternity care
- Delivered by licensed professionals (nurses, social workers, psychologists, midwives, physicians) or certified or trained paraprofessionals (doulas, health educators, community outreach workers, or other experienced staff)
- Valued by participants, enhancing satisfaction with care
A practical response to a long-recognized need
- Easily integrated into regular maternity care or home-visit protocols
- Fully manualized; workbooks, fidelity guides, assessment and charting tools, and checklists help tutors and clients stay on track.
- Telehealth or in person options give flexibility
- Client materials include a workbook ($30 to purchase), that is also available for reading online at no additional cost.
An efficient way of coordinating maternal and trauma-informed care
- Includes in-service materials that help agency staff who are not tutors learn about trauma-informed care and the SMC.
- Includes guidance and tools to screen for maltreatment history and PTSD symptoms - integrating well with any current partner violence and depression or anxiety screening
- Functions as an ideal adjunct for women using mental health, addiction, domestic violence and parenting services
- Presented in a format that’s efficient for staff and convenient for the woman
How the SMC may enhance your work:
The SMC helps agencies provide the highest standards of trauma-informed care for pregnant women, as specified by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
These standards include:
- Delivering services in a setting where the needs of trauma survivors are explored and ultimately understood
- Cultivating referrals to the specific trauma-related services survivor moms might need, including:
- Intimate partner violence, substance use, child welfare and mental health treatment providers
What participating in the SMC involves:
- Funding an end-user license agreement for the first year.
- Renewing annually after that.
- Covering the costs of training for tutors and supervisors.
- Purchasing workbooks for clients unless they will read the pdf workbook online or receive one module at a time as a printed download.
- Funding for most solo practitioners and small or public-sector agencies, the main cost is the training.